The Private World of Ottoman Women

About the Book

Recovering the oft-neglected role of women in Ottoman high society and power politics, this book brings to life the women who made their mark in a male domain. Though historical records tend to favour the glitter of palaces over the trials of daily life, Goodwin also reconstructs ordinary women’s domestic toil.

As the Ottoman Empire first expanded and then shrank, women travelled its width and breadth whether out of necessity or merely for pleasure. Some women owned slaves while others suffered the misfortune of being enslaved. Goodwin examines the laws which governed women’s lives from the harem to the humblest tasks.

This perceptive study of Ottoman life culminates with the nineteenth century and explores the advent of modernity and its impact on women at a time of imperial decline.

About the Author

Godfrey Goodwin is the author of several authoritative works, including The Private World of Ottoman Women, The Janissaries, Sinan: Ottoman Architecture and its Values Today and Topkapi Palace, all published by Saqi Books.

Reviews

‘The best book on the subject and likely to remain so for some time.’
Times Literary Supplement

'A fascinating account by the foremost authority on the Ottoman period.'
The Middle East

'Goodwin is an exceptional scholar with an insight that reveals itself in every sentence.'
Asian Affairs

'Offers excellent scholarship into a history that has been much neglected by the West.'
Judaism Today